Package filling and closing machine



Feb, 24, 1931. P. GANGLER 1,794,010

PACKAGE FILLING AND CLOSING MACHINE Filed Dec. 21. 1928 2 Shegts-Sheet 1 Riv Miornq.

F 'eb. 24, 1931. a P. GANGLER 1,794,010

PACKAGE FILLING AND CLOSING MACHINE Filed Dec. 21. 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 mv-ENToR;

Patented Feb. 24, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PAUL GANGLEB, GI ESSLINGEN, GERMANY, ASSIGLIOR TO THE FIRM FR. HESSER, MASCHINENFABRIK-AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT, OF STUTTGABT, CANNSTATT, GER- MANY PACKAGE FILLING- AND CLOSING MACHINE Application filed December 21, 1928, Serial No. 327,556, and in Germany April 11, 1828.

, The invention relates to improvements in machines for automatically filling and closing packages, in which the packages are intermittently moved forward by a feeding 6 device to. the various stations for filling, closing inclusive of gumming, labelling and other treatment of the packages. More particularly, the invention relates to such machines of this type, in which the packages 1 are first filled up approximately to the desiredfull weight by a suitable measuring or the like device and are then filled up to .the correct weight by means of a weighing mechanism of any suitable kind. In order to gain suflicient time or as much time as pos sible even in the case of high-speed closing machines for the completion of the filling and weighing of the packages without interfering with'the high operating speed of the 50 other devices of the machine, the new or improved machine' according to the present in-- vention is essentially characterized by the feature that it is provided with two weighing stations and with means by which two packa es, which have been approximately filled by the said measuring device, are together fed forward by the feeding device the-distance of two stations or two feed steps underneath the two weighing stations, re- 3 main there during the next step of the feed motion, are then together fed forward by two feeding devices, and are then fed individually step by step to the further stations of the closing machine. By this construction and mode of operation of the machine, double the time is allowed for performing the complete filling and. weighing of; the packages than at the other stations, so that a high operating speed maybe obtained at these other stations without endangering the accuracyof the weighing operation.

The accompanying drawings illustrate new or improved machine by Wa of example. In the drawings:-

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of that part only of an automatic filling and closirig machine to which the invention is applied,

Fig. 2 is a front elevation looking at Fig. 1 from the left-hand side, with certain parts omitted for the sake of clearnws,

the

Fig. 3 is a part of Fig. 2 in a different operating position, and

Fig. 4 is an elevation of the operating cams .with the cooperating lever.

The empty packages (1 pass from any suitable and well known machine in which they are manufactured, on to a mechanism at the entrance of the filling and closing machine, which likewise in a well known manner conveys one package at a time up on the feed track of the filling and closing machine and under the measuring or other. preliminary filling device D, station I. The said device consists in the present case. ofa spoon-like member 1 adapted to be swung 90 from the horizontal into the vertical position and vice versa between two'guide walls 50. The spoon 1 is secured to a lever 11 adapted to rock upon the bolt 45 and en aged by a rod 12 at 12. The lower end 0% the rod 12 is hinged toa lever 13 pivoted at 13 and kept with a guide bowl 14 in operative contact with a cam 15 effecting the operation of the spoon and fixed upon a shaft 7, which. is

driven from the first motion shaft lOthrou h bevel wheels 9 and 8 in the ratio 1:2. T c said shaft 10 may be driven by an electromo-tor or in any other suitable and known 'filled to about 95% of the desired total weight. Behind the station I follows an idle stat on II and then follow the stations III and IV, at which are providedthe two weighing devices W and W and at the next followin stations V, VI, and so on there are provide the further devices for,closing the package including the gumming of flaps, for sticking on the labels, for stamping, and so on. The construction and operation of said measuring and weighing devices is well known in the art, and any known measuring and weighing invention. The same is true for the filling,

gumming, labelling, stamping and other de- Vices of the closing machine. All these de-* vices are 'well known in the art and do-not form the object of this invention so that they need no further description or illustration.

While the mechanism for feeding the packages from the stations V, VI forward'operates as in the known filling and closing machines in the well known manner that the packages are individually and in succession conveyed from one station to the next one, a special feeding mechanism is provided for the stations I to IV, which independent of the feeding device of the stations V, VI, and so on is designed and operates inthe following way This separate feeding mechanism consists of the grippers 2, 3, 4 and 5, which effect the advance of the packages by engaging the respective package from the sideand pushing it forward on the guide track thedesired distance, then swinging sideways outwards and returning to their initial position.

The grippers 3, 4 and 5 are in their turn, independently of the first gripper 2, secured by rods 35 to a common arm 18, which by means of a sleeve or hub 17 is adapted to rock and slide on arod 44 which is pivoted in suitable bearings 50 and 51 fixed to .the machine frame. The reciprocating motion, which is required for thev feeding movement of the grippers, is imparted to the said sleeve 17 by a lever 21, which by means of a block 20 pivoted upon it engages a slotted part 19 of the sleeve 17 and is itself pivoted at 21. The lever 21 is by means of a link 22 connected to "a lever 23, which is pivoted at 23 and kept by guide bowls 24 and 25 in operative contact with the cams 26 and 26 of the shaft 7, said cams. efli'ecting and controlling the reciprocation of the sleeve 17 in the manner described hereinafter. o

The lateral inward and outward oscilla- .tion of the arm 18 and thus of the grippers 3, 4 and 5 is efl'ected by levers 38, 38*, which are secured to the above mentioned rotary rod 44 and engage by means of a square rod 37 the correspondingly shaped mouth of an arm 36 on the hub 17. The arm 38 is connected by means of a link 39 to a lever arm 40 which is pivoted at 41 and kept by means of a guide bowl 42 in operative contact with a cylindrical cam 43 keyed to the shaft 7.

The first gripper 2 is by means of the hub 16 of its supporting arm 16 so journaled upon the sleeve 17 that the arm 16 may be oscillated independently upon the said sleeve, but that it is obligedto participate in the reciprocating motion which is imparted to the sleeve 17 by the said lever 21 and so on. The independent inward and outward oscillation is imparted to the gripper 2 by levers 29 and 29 mounted on the rotary shaft 29 and engaging by means of a rotary square rod 28 a correspondingly shaped mouth of an arm 27 on the hub 16*. The lower end of the lever 29 is connected by means of a link 30 to a lever 31, which is pivoted at 32 and kept in operative contact with a cylindrical cam 34 keyed to the shaft 7by means of the guide bowl 33.

The feed grippers 6 for the other stations V, VI and so on are fixed on a common rail 6*, which is moved in the well known manner and by well known operating mechanism in such a way that the gripper-s 6 during each feed step are moved towards the right from the position illustrated the distance of one station only, then. swung outwards, returned into their initial position and swung inwards again. The operating mechanism for the grippers 6 may for instance be constructed and operated in the same way as describedand illustrated for the gripper 2.

The reciprocating motion of the sleeve 17 takes place in the same rhythm as the reciprocation of the grippers 6, but so that alter-- nately in one feed movement the reciprocation of the sleeve'takes place the distance of two stations and during the feed motion all the grippers '2, 3, 4 and 5 are in their inner operative feed position, and that in the next feed movement the reciprocation of the sleeve 17 takes place the distance of one station only and th gripper 2 only-is'in its operative feed position whilst the grippers 3, 4, 5 occupy their inoperative outward position.

The mode of operation is as follows Assuming that the grippers 2, 3, 4, 5 have just been moved towards the right the distance of two stations in order to convey the completely weighed packages simultaneously from the weighing stations III and IV to-the I stations V and VI and to convey the approximatelyor roughly filled packages simultaneously from the stations I and II to the stations III and IV. All 'four grippers 2, 3, 4 and 5 are then swung into their outward posit on and moved back into their initial position. During this feed step, an empty package has also been conveyed by the spoon 1 on to the station I and provided with the rough filling by the measuring device D. Now only the gripper 2 is swung into its operative inner feed position, whilst the grippers 3, 4 and 5 maintain their inoperative outer position, and during the next feed step the sleeve 17 is moved towards the right the distance of one station only, so'that merely the package roughly filled at the station I will be conveyed by the gripper 2 to the idle station II, while the packages situated on the weighing stations III and IV remain there, so that sufficient time is afforded for their complete and exact weighing. During this feed step, an empty package has again been conveyed under the measuring device D by the spoon 1 and filled roughly by said device D. Apart from this, the grippers 6 have moved the two packages, which were conveyed'during the preceding feed step to the stations V and VI, forward the distance of one station each, i. e. to the next succeeding stations, so that the station V has become empty. After the return motion of the grippers 2, 3, 4 and 5, all the grippers are now moved into their operative inward position, and during the following feed movement they are moved towards the right the distance of two steps, so that now the roughly filled packages are moved from the stations I and II to the stations III and IV by the grippers 2 and 3, and the completely weighed packages from the stations III and IV are moved together to the stations V and VI by the grippers 4 and 5. The package still at the station VI is during the same feed movement moved forward to the next succeeding station VII by the respective gripper 6, and a fresh package is again conveyed under the measuring device D by the spoon 1. The

' grippers 2, 3, 4 and 5 are now returned into their initial position by the distance of two stations, merely the gripper 2 is moved into its operative inner feed position, while the grippers 3, 4 and 5 remain in their inoperativeouter position. During the next feed movement, there takes place the motion of the grippers 2, 3, 4, 5 towards the right the distance of one station only, so that the described operating cycle is repeated.

Various changes may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a package filling machine having successive operating stations and means for feeding the packages stepwise in succession to said stations, a device at one station for approxiniately'filling the package, and two devices at two other stations for simultaneously completing the filling of two approximately filled packages, separate feeding means associated with the said approximately fillin and completing stations, and a driving mec ianism operating said separate feeding means to convey in one feeding step two roughly filled packages simultaneously the distance of two stations underneath said two devices, and during the second following feeding step conveying the two weighed packages simultaneously the distance of two further stations.

2. In a packing filling machine having successive operating stations and means for feeding the packages stepwise in succession to said stations, a device at one station for approximately filling the package, and two devices at two other stations for simultaneously completing the filling of two approximately filledpackages, an idle station between the station with said approximately filling device and the two completin stations, separate feeding means for sai four one feeding step to engage all four packagesat these stations and to feed them forward the distance of two stations, and in the next feeding step to engage only the roughly filled package at thefirststation and to feed same forward the distance of a single station upon the said idle station.

3. In a package filling machine having successive operating stations and means for feeding the packages stepwise in succession to said stations, a device at one station for approximately filling the package, and two. devices at two other stations for simultaneously completing the filling of two approximately filled packages, an idle station between the station with said approximately filling device and the two completing stations,

separate feeding means for said four sta- .device for the three grippers only of the said idle station and the said two completing stations for oscillating these three grippers simultaneously outwards and inwards, and a separate swinging device for the gripper of the first station for an individual outward and inward oscillation of this gripper.

4. In a package filling machine having successive operating stations and means for feeding the packages stepwise in succession to said stations, a device at one station for approximately filling the package, and two devices at two other stations for simultaneously completing the filling of two approximately filled packages, an idle station between the station with said approximately filling device and the two completing stations, separate feeding means for said four stations, said separate feeding means consisting of four grippers movable laterally towards and away from the packages, means consisting of a supporting sleeve for the three feed grippers of the idle and completing stations slidable on a rectilinear guiding device, a swinging device engaging said sleeve for oscillating said three grippers outwards and inwards, and an operating device engaging said sleeve to move it forward and backward alternately for a double feed step and for a single feed step, a separate supporting sleeve for the feed gripper of the approximately filling station and journaled on said first named. sleeve so as to take art in its forward and backward motions, an a separate swinging device engaging the separate sleeve to impart to it a separate inward and outward oscillation.

In testimony PAUL GANGLER. 

